Grace and I went to Paranaque City Hall yesterday to get a marriage license. We asked a man with an official looking ID tag where to go, and he took us to a building next to city hall where a small church has a private school. So for a 2000p fee, the minister will help fill out the paper work, send a runner to walk the paperwork through the city hall bureaucracy, and perform the ceremony. Interesting similarity between that service and the "fixer." I guess it is more like going to a travel agent, buying a ticket, and having the travel agent walk your passport application through. Anyway, we got intercepted and diverted, so instead of 5000p for the license at the clerk's office and then having to find someone to perform the ceremony, we got a package deal. Not too terrible, actually.
Filipinos say I give them a "nose bleed" when they have to talk to me in English for more than a minute. We think the minister just signed off on the "pre-marital counseling" because he was afraid he would bleed to death talking to me. I would have preferred a judge and a civil ceremony, but sometimes it is easier here to just go with the flow.
The life and observations of a retired American teacher living in the Philippines
No comments:
Post a Comment